This is a free soap calculator that can be used to formulate liquid or bar recipes. These recipes can include your biodiesel glycerin and/or other traditional ingredients. The interface is really easy to use and you can even print the recipes!!!

We have included the most common whole oil and fatty acid ingredients. However, if you find an oil or ingredient you would like to have added to the calculator, please let us know.

Yes, it's working in FireFox on WinXP. I already had the FireFox Silverlight plug-in installed.

It does not work right in FireFox on Ubuntu 9.10 with Novell Moonlight 2.2 and the Microsoft Media Pack codecs installed. The page opens very slowly, but eventually does load. Everything looks OK but nothing can be selected from the drop-downs. When you click on the selection it won't "stick" and the box above the selection stays blank.EDIT: OK, I can select the caustic type and units, that part works. I can also select ingredients other than glycerin, but it still does not calculate the recipe. Glycerin cannot be selected.

I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do with the SAP % when I select glycerin. The Permaculture recipe calls for 38.5 grams NaOH per liter glycerin. I have to put 27% in the SAP column for it to come up with the right amount of caustic. What does "27%" indicate?

I will have to see if I can find a way to test the calculator with Ubuntu and Novell.Do you have another browser you can use in the interim?

The SAP% is the percentage of saponifiable elements left over in you BDG. If you are using the Permaculture 38.5 you would use 27% for the other 40g per liter you would use 28% or 29%. These numbers are for NaOH glycerin and Bar soaps. Liquid soap equivalent 54g - 27% and 57g-58g for 27% and 29%.

Speaking of Permaculture... I wish I knew who that guy was... He is truly the grandfather of BDG soaping and I tip my hat in respect to him.

Hybrid soaps will use BDG saponified with the "opposite" catalyst and/or BDG saponified with the same catalyst used in a recipe in which some of the ingredients are using the "opposite" catalyst.

Originally posted by Rick K:The SAP% is the percentage of saponifiable elements left over in you BDG. If you are using the Permaculture 38.5 you would use 27% for the other 40g per liter you would use 28% or 29%. These numbers are for NaOH glycerin and Bar soaps. Liquid soap equivalent 54g - 27% and 57g-58g for 27% and 29%.

OK. I'm just used to seeing SAP values expressed as milligrams KOH per gram of fat. The next time I'm in WinXP I'll look at it again. Maybe it'll make better sense if I can plug some numbers in and see the results.

Yep, I would love to have a chat with Terry. His Permaculture page on soap got me rolling when I first started making biodiesel. I turned my very first batch of glycerin into bar soap with his advice, still have a bar or two this many years later.